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Man finds priceless Warhol sketch in $5 collection

Alexa Fee Contributor
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Typically, original art by Andy Warhol cost thousands, if not millions, of dollars. But one man purchased his one-of-a-kind piece of Warhol art for a mere $5.

Andy Fields, a British businessman, had bought a collection of 5 paintings at a Las Vegas garage sale in 2010 for just $5. When he went to have one of the $1 paintings reframed, he discovered an early Warhol sketch hidden behind it.

The sketch is of 1930s singer Rudy Vallee, when Warhol was around ten years old.

Fields, an art buff, told BBC News that he “recognized the bright red lips of an Andy Warhol.”

The sketch has been estimated to be worth $2 million, but Fields has no intention of selling.

“I’m not interested in the financial gain for now,” he said to The Sun. He intends on having it shown in a museum.

Art historians say that this discovery changes how Warhol’s career had been previously evaluated. It was originally thought that Warhol had not begun using his pop art style until he was in his thirties. The sketch, Fields explains, “Moves the birth of Pop Art back two decades.”

“It’s an incredibly important work,” he said. “It redefines the work of one of the most famous artists of the last 100 years.”